Martial artists set sights on wide world of sports

By OGIA MIAMEL THE South Korean embassy and the Papua New Guinea Taekwondo Federation successfully co-hosted the 2017 Ambassador’s Cup tournament on June 10 at the Caritas Technical Secondary School gymnasium. It was the fifth anniversary of the annual tournament. Said South Korean ambassador Kwak Bum-Soo: “I’d like to stress the importance of this occasion as a festivity to share your friendship among yourselves and encourage and congratulate each other for making an effort to learn the Korean martial art taekwondo. “Today’s event is also meaningful in spreading the spirit of this sport, as you know taekwondo has been significant in strengthening physical strength and spiritual power, and it also helps those who learn the technique to strengthen their disciplines in the organisation they belong to.” This year’s tournament had two categories, the gyeorugi (duel match), and poomsae (taekwondo stance). Gyeorugi is divided into eight weight classes for both men and women, and poomsae is divided into adult and junior competitions. The poomsae winner will be video recorded for qualification to the international tournament in the South Korean capital Seoul. If a poomsae winner is chosen, the Korean embassy will pay all the expenses on the trip. Poomsae is the basic posture of taekwondo and the winner will participate in the final six-day competition in November, and he or she will get a chance to perform in Seoul and also tour the country. Taekwondo promotes physical strength, but it also allows a trainee to embody discipline, patience, leadership and self-esteem. Further, taekwondo is a participating sport at the Pacific Games, Olympic Games, world tournaments, and other international events. The South Korean embassy also put up a photo exhibition at the tournament to promote the culture and tourist attractions of Korea. Each photo was selected from an individual photo competition, hence all the photos on display were winning photographs from different photographers and different exhibitions. Papua New Guinea Taekwondo Federation president John Cholai urged the participants to also do their best to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He said such events would not only foster the spirit and art of taekwondo but also the relationship between the two countries and people. Athletes were encouraged to compete well in the PNG Games to be held in Kimbe, West New Britain, in November. “This is just the start, at the end of the day it is really up to you, if you dedicate yourself to your training and you really persevere and push through all the difficulties, you must set your goals, your path now is to focus on the 2020 Olympics,” Cholai said.